We watched “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” tonight, and I found it to be an intriguing story, that really got my wheels turning, thinking about living life fully. At the beginning of the story, the character who was only a 7 year old boy, but had the body of a 80 year old man, was treated with the same caution with which you would treat an elderly person who you were afraid would be injured, lost or confused at any moment. But it was really only his outward appearance that was the reason for his treatment, not his mind, which was sharp, curious, and free-spirited.
I guess it made me think a lot about the constraints that we put on people whether they are our children, our students, our spouses, or our parents because of our own fear, worry, and perception about their abilities. This doesn’t just stop with physical activities, but anything that someone wishes to pursue that is outside of our comfort zone. Say that you want to start a new business, but you never have, maybe you are “too old” or “too young” or “too in debt”.
These are all outside characteristics, but the truth of whether you will be able to succeed in any endeavor is much more indicated by your motivation, inspiration, and passion for your dream. It is contained in the spirit within, rather than the external circumstances. This was certainly the case with Benjamin Button, and it was interesting to observe the true-to-life way that he was treated at both the beginning and end of his life, regardless of how his body revealed the opposite state of his mind.
The movie reminded me of the graphic novel “The Man Who Grew Young” by Daniel Quinn, except that in this story everyone was taken from the earth as an old person which became their birth, then they aged backwards until they were an infant and were returned to their birth mother (talk about painful!). I’d definitely recommend the movie as well as anything written by Daniel Quinn (his books really changed our lives).
